School authorities had been withholding Ordinary and Advanced Level
examination results for Wellington Nyoni, who wrote his examinations
in 2015 and 2017 respectively and Ordinary Level examination results
for Sithembinkosi Ndlovu, who sat for her examination in 2016 claiming
that the students’ parent Fransisca Ncube and guardian Lochi Stephen
Ndlovu, who are liberation war veterans had not paid up school fees
and yet all along the children’s school fees was being paid by
government.
Upon being engaged by Prisca Dube of ZLHR, Fatima High School
Headmaster only identified as B Moyo advised the human rights lawyer
that he was not aware of the matters and requested that both Nyoni and
Ndlovu should report at the school and see him personally to have the
issues resolved.
Over the years, ZLHR has resorted to using litigation in order to
compel several school authorities to release examination results which
they would have withheld in order to induce parents and guardians to
pay outstanding schools and thereby impede the progress of students to
pursue their educations desires.
In 2018, the then High Court Judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi declared
as unconstitutional the practice by some school authorities of
withholding examination results for students as a way to induce
payment of outstanding school fees.
Justice Mathonsi ruled that the refusal by authorities at Ihlathi High
School in Bulawayo to release Ordinary Level examination results of a
student over non-payment of school fees is unlawful and
unconstitutional as infringes on the student’s constitutional rights
enshrined in section 75 and section 81 of the Constitution.